This document discusses specification by example (SBE), which involves capturing requirements using realistic examples rather than abstract statements. The speaker advocates embracing examples to clarify requirements and changing delivery plans to focus on features rather than components. Some key learnings are that SBE improves requirements clarification, motivates testers, and collaboration is important to refine requirements iteratively. The speaker suggests starting by changing delivery plans and pushing teams to clarify requirements using examples through initial training and coaching.

1. Practical
Ways to
sBE
Larry Cai
Practical way to experience Specification by Example | Scrum Gathering Shanghai 2012 | 2012-06-04 | Page 1 (28)

2. who I am
› Larry: An open source, collaboration & Agile evangelist
› Software Practice Pioneering:
Discover the best suitable methods and tools to
improve the efficiency of software development
– Git, CI, Sonar, Agile, Eclipse, Cloud, Code review
Larry Cai
› mail: larry.caiyu@gmail.com
› weibo: http://weibo.com/larrycaiyu
› blog: http://codeslife.com
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3. Requirement is the important thing for software development
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4. One good way to improve your requirement handling
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5. agenda
› WHAT is specification by example
› How we make changes
› Key learning
› suggestion
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6. agenda
› WHAT is specification by example
› How we make changes
› Key learning
› suggestion
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7. Specification by
example
› Based on capturing and illustrating requirements using
realistic examples instead of abstract statements.
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8. User story
Requirement: customer can check order information before purchase
Feature: As a Returning Customer I want the system to
remember my details so I can purchase goods more quickly.
Acceptance criteria:
Scenario: Review Details Before Purchase
Given I’m on the Amazon website
And I’m logged in as a returning customer
When I click the “1-Click” button
Then I should see my order details
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9. Specification by
example
› Based on capturing and illustrating requirements using
realistic examples instead of abstract statements.
› Collaborative approach to defining requirements and
business-oriented functional tests for software products
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10. All others
Created by http://www.wordle.net/
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11. agenda
› WHAT is specification by example
› How we make changes
– Embrace example
– Change delivery plan
› Key learning
› suggestion
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12. without example
› Feature: Free delivery
Customer will get free delivery when buy some books
We
igh
tv
s. N
um
ber
n
aiwa
ai vs. T
ngh
Sha
Books w
ith USB
e
sh machin
Books with wa
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13. problem
› Technical debts in the end of iteration (notice the gap
between design and verification)
› Waterfall inside the iteration
› Less focus on the requirement in the beginning and no
efficient way to clarify the requirement
Do we do the right thing from the beginning ?
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14. Example matters
› Feature: Free Delivery
› Example:
– Customer has 6 books in cart gets free delivery
– Customer has 5 books in cart doesn’t get free delivery
– Customer has 6 books in cart and delivery address to shanghai is
free delivery
– Customer has 6 books in cart and delivery address to Qinghai
doesn’t get free delivery
– Customer has 6 books in cart and one 2G USB get free delivery
– Customer has 6 books in cart and one wash machine get ?
› Customer buy 6 books (included) and only books can have free
delivery to mainland (exclude Tibet,….)
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15. Tool is good, but it is not must-have to use
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16. Specification by
example
Source: key process from the book “Specification by example”
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17. Embrace Example
› Team works with Product Owner for more examples (less
how, more what) for each feature
– Short vague and abstract description to nature language in example
– Do it until passenger can understand
› Not easy to change. Training, coach and push in beginning
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18. visible requirement
› One source and everyone check/challenge !
Wall, White board ….
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19. Start from example
› Discuss in small group and spread to the team to make it
more efficiency
› Test case comes from example and continuously to
challenge what !
› Implement according to the example and focusing on how !
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20. Change deliver plan
› From component based to feature based
Task based Feature based/Delivery
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21. clear drive
› Deliver plan based on the requirement
– Tester is most suitable
› Done of definition is more easy to track and clear
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22. agenda
› WHAT is specification by example
› How we make changes
› Key learning
› suggestion
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23. Key learning
› Specification by example gives good improvement
– Better way for requirement clarification, easier than you can
image
– Motivation for testers
› Learn and deploy, and continuously improve it.
– Bring testers into front to push for the quality of the requirement
– Collaborate efficiency by visible them
› Tools (like cucumber) is very useful, but is not necessary in
the beginning
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24. Compare to …
› Example is more nature for people to
understand and directed connect to
business (compare to test…)
› Collaboration is the key to refine the
requirement and improve step by step
(compare to driven …)
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25. agenda
› WHAT is specification by example
› How we make changes
› Key learning
› suggestion
Practical way to experience Specification by Example | Scrum Gathering Shanghai 2012 | 2012-06-04 | Page 25 (28)

26. suggestion
› Start from changing delivery plan to make team work
together with business mindset
› Push team to clarify the requirement using example
› Training, Coach in the beginning to touch real case instead
of demo
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27. 实例化需求，你行的
weibo: http://weibo.com/larrycaiyu
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